The news is considered positive for many Florida policyholders who would be on the hook if Citizens cannot pay claims following a major storm or another event.

Policy counts released Monday show Citizens with 942,321 policies in force, a drop of 36 percent from a high of nearly 1.48 million policies in October 2012.

Exposure has fallen from a high of $515 billion in November 2011, to $302 billion, a drop of more than 41 percent.

“Today’s announcement marks the culmination of efforts from all Citizens’ stakeholders,” said Chris Gardner, chairman of the Citizens Board of Governors in a press release. “A lot of credit needs to go to the state leaders, insurance regulators and agents who have helped Citizens reach this critical milestone.”

Officials said after eight years of no major storms, Florida’s financially sound private insurance market has begun to rebound as new investors and companies look to expand.

Depopulation efforts over the past few years have led to nearly 500,000 policies being shifted from Citizens to qualified private carriers able to provide comparable or better coverage at competitive rates.

In January, Citizens launched the Property Insurance Clearinghouse, which will provide access to more private markets options for new applicants and current policyholders.